My papa and Lidia are in B.A. I could be drinking coffee with them, and Perli and Chino, right now. Nate Williams has spent a bunch of time in Argentina, and from the looks of it, his family is as goofy as mine.

I'm old now, but when I was young you could talk me into anything. I had an open mind. So when I saw the ad saying some "professional writers" needed an "adventurous girl" to "interview for fictional purposes," I was intrigued, especially when the ad went on to say that by simply answering questions, I could "make an important contribution to American Literature." I had always wanted to make an important contribution to something, so I threw on my coat, grabbed my purse, and went straight to the address listed in the paper.

JE : Right now my favorite writer is A. A. Milne. Let me give you a sample of why:

Rabbit leant over further than ever, looking for his [stick], and Roo wriggled up and down, calling out, “Come on, stick! Stick, stick stick!” and Piglet got very excited because his was the only one which had been seen, and that meant that he was winning.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

We can be divided into four categories according to the kind of look we wish to live under. The first category longs for the look of an infinite number of anonymous eyes, in other words, for the look of the public...The second category is made up of people who have a vital need to be looked at by many known eyes. They are the tireless hosts of cocktail parties and dinners...Then there is the third category, people who need to be constantly before the eyes of the person they love. Their situation is as dangerous as the situation of people in the first category. One day the eyes of their beloved will close, and the room will go dark...

And finally there is the fourth category, the rarest, the category of people who live in the imaginary eyes of those who are not present. They are the dreamers."

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

In 1990, Marianne Faithful taught a workshop at Naropa with Hal Willner. She was just about to perform in The Seven Deadly Sins in London, and she sang for us: Working Class Hero, Strange Weather, and Ballad of the Soldier's Wife (link is Lennon). Thanks to UE for reminding me.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

I just downloaded "Volver," sung by Estrella Morente, after hearing it on Allure's site. I can't wait to see the film again (although all I really want to do is walk around with a copy of The Gleaners and I and ask people if they've seen it).

"In my films I always want to make people see deeply. I don't want to show things but to give people the desire to see." Agnès Varda. Watching a few of her films at my house this weekend, beginning with The Gleaners and I.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." Flannery O'Connor. Maude Newton found a 10 minute film version of "Good Country People" (9:17 is the ticket). Photo of O'Connor's desk from NYT.